It's a Wonderful Wife
by auldtimer
Summary: Just a one of bit of Christmas fun. Not linked to anything else, and all the usual disclaimers apply! Couldn't resist a Christmas Tale, hope you enjoy. Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad!
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Just a little one of Christmas Tale. Hope you enjoy! It is not linked to any other stories, and all the usual disclaimers apply!**

**Feliz Navidad! Happy Christmas! **

Callie sighed as she looked out of the window. The snow was coming down thick and fast, the earlier light flurries now turning to heavy swirls that danced passed the window and obscured her view. She shivered slightly as she took another sip of her coffee before wrapping her hands around the mug and hugging it to her as she let out yet another sigh. She jumped as she finally heard a voice behind her say. "Earth to Callie…come in Callie….YO…Torres! Do you want a top up?"

Callie smiled as she looked over at Meredith Grey and nodded before walking over and passing her now nearly empty mug over. "Thanks!" she mumbled as it was filled and passed back

"Really coming down out there huh?" Meredith nodded at the window before flopping down into the nearest armchair

"Hmmm" Callie said as she sat down in the chair opposite. "There are weather warnings out all over the city. The day centre staff are staying over so I am going to keep Sofia here, safer than traveling in this. At least ONE of her mothers has some sense!"

"Huh?"

Again, Callie sighed. "Arizona. She is out there in this" she whispered before nervously taking another sip of coffee and glancing quickly at the window

"Say what?!" Meredith gasped. "Why? Where? And again, why?"

With a mirthless laugh Callie explained. "She got called to Seattle Pres. Their Peds surgeon is stuck out in the sticks somewhere, and the hospital had a patient come in with complications to a previous surgery"

"So, they called Arizona?" Meredith asked quietly as she saw Callie hesitate

"They called Arizona" Callie nodded. "And I told her she shouldn't go, I TOLD her the weather warnings were for snow blizzards and ice. I told her she should say no…I told her, and she said, she said" Callie took a deep breath before smiling bitterly and with a shake of her head finished. "She said I had no right to TELL her anything. Ever again. No right"

Meredith stared at her friend for several long seconds before whispering. "She has a point. She's a grown ass woman Callie. She can make her own decisions now…."

"They are the WRONG decisions Meredith!" Callie said quickly. "Wrong. Crazy. And frankly, dangerous and irresponsible!"

Meredith gave a small grin and laughed. "Do you know what you sound like? A wife! That's what you sound like!"

Callie slumped down in her chair and took another sip of coffee before glumly saying. "I am so not that anymore! Arizona has made **that** perfectly clear!"

"I thought you left her?"

Callie shook her head. "I, I left the situation. I left, what we had become. But I still love her. I do. I, I always will. I just, I, I don't know if love is enough!"

Meredith nodded and bit her lip before muttering . "Tell me about it!"

"I'm sorry!" Callie gasped as she quickly sat up and reached over to rest her hand on her friends knee. "I'm being selfish. I forgot. It's just, I was hoping that Arizona and I were getting better ya know? We were, being friends and getting to know each other, starting over I thought! But, seems I was wrong!"

Meredith scrunched up her face and looked at her friend waiting for more details

Callie slumped back into her seat before telling her. "We, we fought. Tonight. Before she left. Before I even knew she was going out in this weather, we fought. Then when I heard she was going to Pres, I barged in here, and we fought again! Things were said. A lot of things, and I don't know if she meant them, if I meant them. But we had been doing so good, and now…."

"Now?"

Callies face crumpled and she bit back a sob before looking at Meredith and saying. "I think I have lost her. I think…I really think, that we are over. WE are done. And I, I don't know, I can't, I don't…I don't know how to stop loving her so damn much, and just let her walk away from me. I can't, let go! Not, completely. But tonight, tonight…she was letting me go. She was…pulling away from me. And I couldn't stop her!"

Meredith nodded and waited a moment before asking. "What was the fight about Callie? What did she say?"

_Callie came barging into the Attendings Lounge, already knowing that she would_ _find Arizona there, Alex had told her she would find Arizona there. "What the hell Arizona! She yelled as the blonde woman looked up and went to smile, the smile faltering as the tall brunette glared at her. "I have just seen the staff rota. You put down to do a double over Christmas! What were you thinking?"_

_Arizona shrugged before saying quietly. "I was thinking I would rather be here than sat at Alexs watching him and Jo making gooey eyes all morning….or sat at Merediths making everyone feel uncomfortable about me being there! I was thinking it was better all round for ME to work, and let Alex have some time off. And I was thinking it would make life easier…for you"_

"_For ME?" Callie laughed. "How does your pulling a double make MY life easier?"_

_Arizona sighed and made a point of studying her shoes before mumbling. "It is easier for Sofia ok! She, she won't want to leave her toys and presents and the comfort of her home on Christmas Day! YOU won't want to have to keep one eye on the clock wondering if I am on my way to pick her up. And I can't sit at home knowing she is with you, laughing and singing, whilst I sit in some ones guest room on my own!" _

_Callie blinked rapidly as Arizonas words hit her. She was right of course, Callie didn't want to see her daughter go anywhere on Christmas Day. But then, she hadn't planned on it just being the two of them. With a slight cough Callie shoved her hands in her pockets and pursed her lips before saying. "I wanted to….to invite you to the house. Home. For Christmas Day. I wanted you to be with Sofia, to be there for dinner and playing. I wanted you there!"_

"_YOU wanted!" Arizona laughed. "You wanted to be free, you wanted to be so much more, you wanted to breathe. No Callie. No. You didn't want me there. You just didn't want to share Sofia!" _

"_Not true!" Callie hissed stepping forward and pointing her finger accusingly at Arizona. "Not true and you know it! I have been willing to share, I have never tried to stop you seeing her, never! YOU were the one who chose to work Thanksgiving, now you plan to work Christmas! It is not me not sharing Sofia, it is you avoiding her, and she misses you. SO much. But don't you blame me. Don't you ever blame me!"_

_Again Arizona chuckled. "Ok, fine!" she smirked. "NONE of this is your fault!" she added sarcastically before going to stand up and walk away, sensing Callie was only just keeping her temper under control. "None of it!"_

_Callie reached over and grabbed her arm. "I am not saying that. I'm not talking about US Arizona, I'm talking about our daughter!"_

_Instantly Arizona pulled free and glared at Callie. "I know that! Of course I know that. But I am TRYING to do the right thing here! Maybe when she is older, she will understand more, and it will be ok for her to move between the two of us. I should have my own place by then and she will have somewhere to come to. But right now, she is so young. And so excited! She will be tired after a long day, and if it's anything like her birthday she will want to play with every present and watch every film until her eyes close. She won't want to be dragged to a cold car and brought to another house. She will just want….her own bed…and you"_

_Callie stared at her before asking softly. "Will you at least come over for a little while on the day? To see her open some presents? Let her know we are ok together, and we BOTH love her?"_

_Arizona stared back before whispering. "I'd like that. I'll, I'll try"_

"_You can watch her open the presents off you if you like!" Callie smiled_

"_Uhm" Arizona shrugged slightly before saying. "I was kinda well, Alex and Jo are going away at the weekend. And it IS my weekend with Sofia, so I thought…well I thought I would do another Christmas Day for her. Just the two of us. Spend some quality time together you know!"_

"_This weekend?" Callie asked quickly_

"_Well, yeah!" Arizona nodded. "IT IS my weekend."_

_Callie swallowed and licked her lips. A tell tale sign of her sudden discomfort. Noticing it all, Arizona stepped forward and muttered. "What?"_

"_Uhm" Callie gave a weak smile. "My dad. He uhm. Well, he is coming to visit, this weekend! He wants to see Sofia, spend some time with her!"_

"_You're kidding me right?" Arizona whispered. "Please, say you're kidding"_

"_I'm not!" Callie shrugged a fraction. "He has some time off between Christmas and the New Year, and wanted to spend it with his Granddaughter!"_

"_Well, how long is he here for?"_

"_He gets in Friday night, heads home Monday afternoon"_

"_The whole weekend?" Arizona gasped. "He is here the whole weekend…so you want me to stay away? Not to see Sofia? So she can see your dad?"_

"_He IS her Grandfather!" Callie said snippily. "He has a right to see her!"_

"_Which is obviously more than I do, despite your words. What was it Callie…I'm willing to share? I have NEVER stopped you from seeing her? On your terms though huh? After all…you are her REAL mother. And me? I'm just a name on a piece of paper that means nothing in a court of law if you decide to cut me out of her life! So how can I argue? "_

_Callie gasped. "I would NEVER do that! And you are as much her mother as I am!"_

_Arizona pursed her lips and asked. "So, if it was your weekend, and you hadn't seen Sofia all over the holidays, and MY parents were coming to visit….would you let me have her?"_

_Callie opened her mouth to answer, and hesitated as she realised her truthful answer would be no. She didn't need to say it. Arizona saw it in her eyes and merely nodded before pushing to walk out of the room. "It's fine Callie" she said sadly as she hesitated by the door. "I won't interfere. I understand. Best I walk away now, whilst she is little….she'll forget me soon enough, maybe it is for the best…"_

"_WHAT?" Callie cried as she stepped forward and slammed the door closed. "What are you saying?"_

_Arizona bit her bottom lip and fought for control. "I'm saying, that I understand. I won't fight you. Perhaps…perhaps it would be better if, if…."_

"_If WHAT Arizona?" Callie hissed_

_Arizona went to answer but the sound of her pager cut in and she sighed as she looked at it. "911, gotta go"_

"_This discussions isn't over!" Callie called out as Arizona raced away. "It is SO not over!" she added softly once the blonde had disappeared from her sight_

"Wow!" Meredith gasped as Callie finished telling her. "So, Arizona is really being considerate there huh?!"

"What? NO!" Callie gasped. "She was avoiding Sofia! How is THAT being considerate?"

"Hardly avoiding her if she was planning the weekend with her!"

Callies eyes went wide. "Oh, so you think I'm mean, for asking her to give up her weekend for my dad?"

"No! But I think she had every right to be pissed at you, and there are some people that would have said no, but she didn't! Because she didn't want a fuss or to make life difficult for you. She may not be your wife anymore, but she is still looking out for you, and that's, that's sweet! And neither of you said anything too mean, so it is all repairable"

Callie gave a slight grimace and then a smile

"What did you do?" Meredith asked as she realised there was more to this

_Callie saw her talking to one of the paramedics. "Are you crazy?" she hissed as she pulled at Arizonas arm and tugged her closer_

"_I'm getting deja-vu!" Arizona said to no-one before turning to glare at Callie. "What have I done THIS time?"_

"_There are blizzards out there. Thick….THICK snow. And it's cold. Dangerously cold. Yet, here you are gearing up to travel to the Presbyterian! Are you crazy?!"_

"_The storm warnings aren't until early hours of the morning, I'll be back long before then. Kid needs this op, and I'm the only one with the experience to do it. I have to go!" _

"_No. No you don't. You WANT to go. You love the adventure, the ego boost…"_

"_So what if that's true!? My ego has taken a fair beating recently in case you hadn't noticed!"_

_Callie laughed. "Typical Arizona, keeping busy to run away from her problems!"_

"_Callie!" Arizona laughed. "There is a tiny, TINY human that needs my help! This is NOT about me running away! And I HATE the cold, so I wouldn't be going if I didn't have to!"_

_Callie shook her head. "There is a tiny human HERE that needs her momma" _

"_Don't do that!" Arizona whispered back. "Don't try to make me feel guilty about Sofia. I am doing the best I can here!"_

"_Really? If you were so sure you were doing the right thing all the time then why could I make you feel guilty?"_

"_I said don't try Callie, not that I DO feel guilty…I don't!"_

"_Well maybe you should. She cried on Thanksgiving because you didn't come to see her, and I will be damned if you make her cry Christmas Day to. Be there Arizona!"_

_Arizona shook her head. "I will try, but you don't get to tell me what to do anymore. We're through remember? Now if you'll excuse me…I have to go"_

"_That is dangerous and stupid, going out in this weather Arizona. And you know it is! You can't go"_

"_And you can't tell me what to do anymore!" Arizona spat back as she pushed passed the brunette and started to walk towards the door, grabbing her bag and jacket on the way._

"_Fine, run away. Just like you always do! Sofia would be better off without you anyway!"_

_Arizona froze before slowly turning to look back at her soon to be ex-wife. "What did you say?" she asked quietly_

_Callie was irrational with anger. Arizona just wasn't listening. So, before she could stop herself Callie blurted out. "Maybe it would be for the best if you did turn and runaway, maybe she would be better if you weren't here, if you just…ran away, and left us alone!"_

_Arizona stared at her, her jaw clenched tightly before she whispered. "Maybe she would!" before turning and walking slowly out into the snow and the cold night air _

"Ouch!" Meredith winced. "Low blow Callie!"

"I know!" Callie replied sadly as she turned to look back out of the window, sighing again as she realised how fast the thick snow was swirling round outside. "I know"

[xx]

Some five hours later and Callie found herself back in the lounge, drinking more coffee, and staring out of the window at the world blanketed in white. She stretched a fraction, feeling her muscles ping back into place after a long surgery. She glanced at the wall clock and back at her watch before fumbling for her mobile and hitting the auto call, hissing in frustration when the call went straight to voicemail again. "Dammit Arizona!" she muttered before adding. "Call me ok, please! We…I need to talk. I….I'm sorry!" Callie clicked the phone off and whispered to herself. "I'm so sorry"

[xx]

Arizona cranked the heater up on the car again and squinted through the windscreen. There were no other cars on the road, not that she had seen since leaving Seattle Pres a little over forty minutes ago. The surgery had gone well, and with the adrenalin still flooding her system she had checked the roads and decided it was safe to travel home. She had only been driving for ten minutes when she realised her mistake! The Pres was the opposite side of Seattle to Greys-Sloan. And the only way to get from A to B, was to drive across some of the more…mountainous areas of the city! What had been a clear sky and light coating of snow in the car park, morphed into snow drifts and a near white out. She was tempted to pull over and wait it out, see if the blizzard would ease up, if the visibility would improve, but she knew that to stop the car now would be to risk getting stuck, so instead she kept going, kept her speed low and a tight grip on the wheel, her eyes focused 100% on the road ahead. She briefly bent forward to switch on the radio, figuring some music would help her focus, maybe she could sing along. Instead, she found a news programme, with the presenter gravely announcing several road closures, including the road Arizona had just left. "Great!" She muttered to herself as she switched the radio off. "So no turning back! Should have listened to Callie!" she said out loud, then laughed at herself. "But then, that's what got me into this mess in the first place!" She shook her head and bit her bottom lip a fraction before slamming her palm against the steering wheel. "Dammit, focus Arizona, don't think about Sofia or Callie right now. Don't think about them at all. Just….focus!"

She slowly steered her car around a sharp bend, knowing she was approaching a bridge she gently applied a little more gas, yelping in surprise when a woman seemed to appear from nowhere on the side of the road ahead. Hitting the brakes and fighting briefly to stop her car skidding out of control, Arizona brought her car to a halt and wound down her window, wincing as the icy blast of wind bit against the skin on her face. "Hey!" she yelled over the howling wind. "Hey, you ok?" she asked as the woman staggered forward and leant against the drivers door.

"Oh thank God!" she gasped. "Please….help me! My husband and son, they are in the car. He misjudged the bridge, lost control of the car, please, help them!"

"Get in!" Arizona said quickly watching as the woman staggered round and fell into the passenger seat. "Are you ok? Are you hurt?" Arizona asked as she cranked the heater up again and pulled the blanket from the back seat around the womans shoulders

"I'm fine" she said shivering slightly but giving a small smile. "Thank you, oh thank you for stopping!"

Arizona smiled before putting her car back in drive and carefully pulling away. "Here" she said as she passed her mobile over to her passenger. "Try dialling 911. Let them know where we are and what has happened"

The woman nodded and pressed the numbers several times. "No signal!" she whispered sadly

"Keep trying" Arizona told her as she controlled her car going into the incline of the bridge before slowly stopping as she glanced at the gap in the wall

"Who is Callie?" the woman asked

"What?"

"Callie. Who is she? Only, you have several messages from her!"

Arizona frowned. "Not important right now. Just keep trying 911. You stay in the car" she instructed as she reached over to get her heavy jacket on and pull up her hood. "You need to get warm. I will go and see if I can do anything. Can you pass me my torch form the pocket there? Thanks. Uhm, what's your name?"

"Clarice!"

"Hi Clarice, I'm Arizona, and I am going to do all I can to help your family, ok?"

The woman nodded and watched her rescuer trudge of into the blizzard before whispering. "And I am going to do all I can to help yours Dr Arizona Robbins"


	2. Chapter 2

"You're an idiot Arizona Robbins," she huffed to herself. "An idiot! Hard enough walking in snow with TWO legs, but noooooo….you have to try it with one! IDIOT!" She stopped and drew in two big breaths as she surveyed the wreckage below. "Oh God!" she whispered as she realised how close to sliding into the cold river below the wrecked car really was. She glanced back at her own car, wondering if she could fit a tow rope on the back of the wreck and try to pull it back, but she could feel herself sinking down in the snow and slush, and knew it wouldn't work, she would probably end up sending both cars plunging into the icy waters below. So, instead, she slowly and carefully slid down the embankment, yelping slightly as her prosthetic dug painfully into her skin. She reached out her hand to grab the back of the car and stopped herself from falling backwards. The glass on the side windows was smashed, she could tell the car had rolled and her heart sank. "Hello?" she called out as she tried to pull the door open, and failed. "Can you hear me?" she called again as she tried the front passenger door. "Damn" she muttered as she got no reply. "Now what Einstein?"

Arizona pushed her hood back a fraction and leaned into the smashed rear passenger window, shining her torch to help her see more clearly. She saw the form of a young child, strapped into a child seat, and not moving. "Ok" she huffed, "don't panic!" she said as much to herself as to the unconscious child. "Don't panic, we can do this!" She shrugged her bulky jacket off and rested it over the smashed glass in the window, and carefully hauled herself into the car, whimpering slightly as she felt it move, edging towards the river bank. She waited, and then moved more slowly forward, her freezing fingers latching onto the edge of the childs seat and unlocking it to pull it towards her. "Hi!" she whispered when she heard the soft murmur off the young boy. "It's ok, We're gonna get out of here and get warm, and you're gonna be fine!" she told him as her expert hands did the quickest examination she could in the circumstances. Deciding it was too dangerous to leave him in the car, she carefully pulled him out of his seat, and allowed herself to tip back out of the window, landing in the snow with the child cradled against her.

She was shivering as she clambered to her feet, her heart sinking as she realised she had to get back up the embankment with him. Almost as soon as she thought that, she gasped when she heard a voice at her side. It was Clarice. "You have him!" she said with a bright smile. "You have my son!"

"Ye…yeah" Arizonas teeth were chattering, "but we have, we have to get him to my ca…car. He is cold. Too cold!"

"My husband?" Clarice asked as she looked back at the wreck before looking back at Arizona

Arizona groaned. "I'll…I'll see to him. Can you manage to get your son to my car?"

Clarice nodded and reached to take the child. "Be careful!" she whispered as she watched Arizona wriggling back in through the smashed window. "Please, be careful"

Arizona could barely feel her fingers as she reached through the gap between the drivers seat and passenger seat. So, she blew on them and rubbed them together before pressing against the unconscious mans neck. She gave a small laugh as she felt a pulse, changing to a yelp as once again she felt the car start to slide. "No, oh no! No no no no no no " she muttered as she hurriedly looked around her. The front windscreen was cracked, it wouldn't take much to smash it completely. She looked down and smiled as she saw a snow shovel in the footwell. "Perfect!" she smirked as she undid his seat belt before backing out of the rear window and limping back to the front of the car. With two big smacks, she completely shattered the windscreen, using the shovel to scrape free the last few shards of glass. "Sorry!" she whispered as she spotted some of the flying glass had nicked the mans neck. She reached in and grabbed hold of his jacket with both hands, holding on tight she heaved back, throwing her whole weight backwards. She was breathing heavily as she repeated the move for the fourth time before yelling in triumph as the man slumped on to the ground next to her. Quickly she checked him for injuries, noting a broken arm, dislocated shoulder, gash in his leg and a bump to his head. She undid his scarf and retied it, using it as best she could to hold his neck still, then glanced back up the embankment, and sighing heavily. "Ok mister, let's move!" And so, she lay him on his back, wrapped her arms under his and started to painfully and slowly drag him up towards the road and the warmth of her car. She was three quarters of the way up when she heard, and then saw, the wrecked car start to slide the last few feet, before it plunged in the dark icy water. She sat still for a few moments, gasping from exhaustion and shock. "Idiot Arizona Robbins!" she whispered to herself, before starting her slow painful climb back, "Idiot!"

After what seemed like hours, Arizona finally reached the top and saw her own car. Clarice was sitting inside rocking her son. She climbed out as soon as she saw Arizona near the top of the embankment, and rushed to help her the last few feet. The two of them opened Arizonas rear doors and dragged the unconscious man into the seat. Arizona grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around him. "Y…y….you sit in the ba…ba….back with him" she shivered. "Sh….share body heat. Your son will b…b….be ok in the front."

"Alright!" Clarice nodded as she hugged the man closer to her

Arizona climbed into the drivers seat and cranked the heater up to maximum. She glanced at the dash display and nodded. "We….we have at least ¾ of a tank, we will be fine. I'll just take my time, get us to the main road, get help from there. We, we'll be fine!" She put the car in gear and slowly pulled away, glancing back in the rear view mirror at Clarice and repeating, "we'll be fine"

[xx]

Callie was pacing now as she tried the mobile again. Getting Arizonas voicemail she growled in frustration

"The roads leading away from Seattle Pres are closed" Meredith told her as she walked into the lounge. "Owen is talking to the highway patrol, letting them know we have a doctor missing. Uhm, out there. They have some four wheel drives doing sweeps of the roads, looking for stragglers. If she is on the pass, they will find her. Chances are she has either found somewhere safe to pull over and wait it out, or she is just, taking her time!"

Callie looked at her and slowly shook her head. "Something is wrong Mer. I can feel it! Don't ask me to explain it, but, I can feel it. Same way I did when you were on the plane, same way I knew about that Boswell woman. I know Mer, I can feel it. Something, is wrong!"

"Let the cops do their job Callie. If she is out there, they will find her. Meantime, why don't we go downstairs and spend some time with our kids huh?"

"I yelled at her Mer" Callie said softly, her eyes filling with tears. "I yelled and said some, hurtful, hateful things. I didn't mean them. Not a one. I just wanted her to, to hurt! The same way I'm hurting! I wanted her to, to…."

"To what?" Meredith asked softly.

"I wanted her to beg me to take her back! I have been WAITING for her to beg me, to take her back. To try again. Instead, she seemed to be pulling further and further away from me. So. I wanted to hurt her, the way she was hurting me by pulling away!"

Meredith sighed and walked over to hug her friend. "You were the one who wanted to pull away Callie. You have to remember that. Arizona, she loves you. And IF she is pulling away, it isn't to punish you! It's, it's to make your life easier, to give you what she thinks you want and need. Your freedom! She isn't running away FROM you, she is running away FOR you. She loves you Cal, she loves you so much. As much as you love her if not more." She gave a small laugh and hugged the brunette tighter as she felt her friend trembling. "You are just both so damn stubborn. So stubborn. But just so you know, everyone here hasn't given up on the two of you…nope, nobody has. So, if we are still rooting for you to get together again, if WE haven't given up….then don't you either ok? Don't you dare! You and Arizona? You're end game!"

Callie gave a sniffle and a small laugh. "Seriously? People out there think we are getting back together? YOU think we are getting back together? After all the bitchin' I have done on your shoulder these last few months?"

Meredith just grinned and nodded

Callie tilted her head and looked at her. "Yeah right!" she muttered as she wiped at her tears

"Right!" said Meredith brightly. "Now come on, our little humans are waiting for us!"

Callie shook her head a fraction and smiled before following Meredith out of the lounge, automatically trying to call Arizona just one more time

[xx]

"Still no signal!" Arizona sighed as she glanced at her phone attached to the dash. "Dammit!" She had been driving for a good twenty minutes, the snow was still heavy but no longer swirling as thickly, but her display told her the temperature was dropping drastically which meant…."ICE! DAMMIT!" she yelled as her car started to skid. "Hold on!" she yelled as she wrestled with the wheel, "I can't hold it!" She yelled again as the car slid sideways, before bumping into a large snow drift on the side of the road, and spinning across the road and hitting another snow drift. Arizona pitched forward, she felt her head collide with the steering wheel. "Callie!" she whimpered, before everything went black.

[xx]

"Oooh, ow!" Callie grimaced, suddenly rubbing at her temple as she played with Sofia

"You ok over there Cal?" Meredith asked as she saw her friend rubbing at her head and grimacing.

"Uhm, yeah, think so!" Callie replied looking slightly dazed. "Just got a sudden, pain!"

"Probably the cold weather, I get them all the time!"

"Indoors?" Callie chuckled

Meredith shrugged and nodded. "It's either the cold, or tension!" She offered with a small smile

Callie just looked at her and slowly shook her head before going back to putting glitter on the masterpiece her daughter had created.

[xx]

"Arizona! Wake up now! Arizona! We don't have a lot of time, so come on now. Wake up!"

The blonde woman groaned and blinked several times as she struggled to focus on the blurred figure in front of her. "Hey!" she muttered weakly. "Clarice? You ok?"

Clarice laughed softly before replying. "Oh, I'm just fine"

Arizona shook her head again and fully opened her eyes frowning as she looked at the other woman. She glanced over her shoulder and frowned again as she saw the rear seat was empty. "Your son? Your husband? Where are they?" she asked softly as she rubbed at her temple

Clarice smiled before asking. "Do you believe in Angels Arizona?"

"Huh?"

"Angels? Do you believe in Angels?"

Arizona felt the edge of her lips tug in to a small smile as she gave a small laugh. "I'm the wrong person to ask!"

"Why?" Clarice asked with a small smile of her own

With a chuckle Arizona shook her head and tried to restart her car, sighing in frustration when the engine failed to start.

"You haven't answered me!" Clarice chuckled as Arizona cursed under her breath

"In case you haven't noticed, I have more pressing things on my mind then whether or not I believe in Angels! We are STUCK, in the snow! Your husband and son aren't in the back, and we are likely to freeze to death out here!"

"I'm not cold!" Clarice said brightly. "Are you cold?"

Arizona sighed then frowned. No, she realised, she wasn't cold. Not at all. "Huh!" she laughed. "Whatcha know…damn freaky weather!"

"So, answer me. Do you believe in…"

"Angels….yeah, you asked me already!" Arizona huffed. "How can you be so calm? Why aren't you worried? Where are your family?"

"So many questions!" Clarice smiled and reached over to rest her hand on Arizonas arm. "Try not to worry so much, not good for you! My son and husband are safe, thanks to you! So, now we have to look after you right?"

Arizona reached up and rubbed at her head, relieved when she didn't feel any trace of a cut. "I'm fine!" she stammered slightly. "Just a little…confused!"

Clarice chuckled as she nodded. "Naturally. This is a lot to take in!"

"This?"

With a small sigh Clarice shook her head and muttered to herself. "Start again!" She took a deep breath and turned back to Arizona. "Before we do anything else, before I can, explain, anything else. I need your answer. Arizona, please. Do you believe?"

Arizona stared at her before giving a small laugh. "Well, seems I have no choice but to play along. Ok then. No! Ok? No. I DON'T believe in Angels, not anymore, not…anymore"

"But you did once right?"

With another soft chuckle Arizona let her head rest back against the drivers seat. "I did once" she whispered. "Once, when I had a brother, a skyrocketing career, two legs….a wife who loved me as much as I loved her. I had all that, and I believed. In Angels, in, in love"

"And now?"

"Now?! Ha!" Arizona sighed deeply. "Now, I have nothing! I have lost **everything**! EVERYTHING! And I didn't do anything wrong! I didn't hurt anyone, I lived my life to help others, to always do the right thing and to always help people. And what did that get me? Huh? What did it get me? My brother killed in action, my father shutting himself down from me for years….my mother nearly suffocationg me as she was afraid to let me out of her sight? My chance to really make something of my career, my Carter Maddison Grant? I gave it up….for love! Haha….foolish me! Cos when I got back, the love of my life was pregnant with her best friends child! But, I did my duty and stood by her. No, I stayed by her because I LOVE her…so much! Yet, I nearly watched her die! I crashed a car and nearly killed her AND our daughter! And then, when everything was hunky dory…I fall from the sky in a little metal box, and end up with a peg leg and serious chip on my shoulder! Oh, but as if ALL that wasn't enough, as if God or whoever is up above, hadn't made my life miserable enough, my wife and I can't seem to find our way back. And so, so….we're over! She doesn't love me anymore, if she ever really did. Do I believe in Angels? If they existed, why have I had do much CRAP in my life? And why is my life falling apart around me?"

"Wow!" Clarice gasped. "This is a tougher job than I realised! They didn't give me ALL the facts, kinda wish they had!"

"They? What?" Arizona blinked and scrunched up her nose in puzzlement, frowning as Calrice held out her hand and smiled brightly as she said. "Allow me to properly introduce myself. Clarice Oddbody AS2!"

"AS2?"

"Angel. Second Class!"

Arizona stared at her, her mouth dropping open before she suddenly started laughing. "Oh, I get it! I REALLY hit my head, and now I'm what….dreaming? Hallucinating? "

"Neither!" Clarice smiled back. "Arizona, it's true you have had some, difficult times. But, you are a fighter! God never gives you more than you can cope with! Whilst you have fought back from every blow, others would have buckled and caved in! But not you! You have just, fought back and kept going! But this time, this time….the powers that be noticed you were struggling to fight back. That you seemed to be, giving in! So, they sent me to help you! To give you the strength you need, to help you fight back and carry on!"

"Of course you are!" Arizona chuckled. "And next you're going to tell me that the Easter Bunny will be by shortly with some hot chocolate and refreshments!"

"Don't be silly!" Clarice giggled, then added. "Everyone knows he goes on holiday this time of year!"

Arizona just shook her head and sighed before whispering. "Just a dream, just a dream!"

"I assure you, it's not! Now, how do we help you? How do we fix you Arizona Robbins?" Clarice asked softly as she once again reached to rest her hand on Arizonas arm

"Fix me!" Arizona hissed. "There is NO fixing me! I can't regrow this leg, I can't unsleep with Lauren Boswell, can't not leave for Africa or leave Callie at the airport. And I can't make Callie love me again. I can't make that happen, and I don't know how I can live without her! So, there is NO fixing me! The best thing that could ever have happened is for me to never have been born! Everyone would be happy then! I wouldn't have messed up so many lives, hurt so many people. Hurt my daughter….hurt Callie. Everyone would be better off without me, better off if I had just….never been born!"

Clarice stared at her before nodding and muttering. "Okay! Well, it's been done before, it can be done again. You think you're responsible for everything that happened to you huh? To everybody around you? Well, think again! There are fixed points in everybodys lives. How they cope, how they survive…can very well depend on who is there to help them through! You wish you had never been born? Fine! Consider it done! But, let me show you, let me show just how much of an impact you have really had. Let me show you what a difference you have made. And then let me….let me fix you"


	3. Chapter 3

Arizona was chuckling to herself. "Oh boy, I must have really wacked my head this time! Thinking I'm sat here, talking about Angels and fate. Boy oh boy, way to go Robbins. OUCH!" she yelped as Clarice pinched her. "What was THAT for?"

"You felt it huh?" Clarice asked with an impish smile

"Well, yeah!"

"Good!"

"Good?"

"Yes, good! If you felt it, then, you're not dreaming!" the woman tilted her head at Arizona and shrugged. "Right?"

Arizona shook her head a fraction. "Crazy!" she muttered to herself

"Hmm," Clarice tapped at her chin before pocking Arizona. "Listen up. I don't have a whole lot of time here okay? If I am gonna show you what the world is like without an Arizona Robbins, then you are gonna have to start co-operating! George and Clarence had a whole night, me? I get a whole hour…well, give or take a few minutes! Cost cutting you know! I have two more visits before the end of the night, lead up to Christmas is just SO busy…."

"STOP! OK? Just, stop talking, please" Arizona shook her head and gave a small laugh. "George and Clarence?"

"Yah!"

"As in the film? I know that film. It's a favourite of mine. But, it's a film…."

"Documentary"

"What?"

Clarice nodded solemnly. "It was a documentary! I mean sure, they took some liberties, fitting for the time ya know! I mean, Clarence? Black guy, 6ft 3! Nice guy! But, speaks with a slight lisp! Didn't fit into the Hollywood mode! And George, so not Jimmy Stewart material…more, uhm, more maybe oooh. Rick Moranis!"

Arizona snickered. "You know, you are ruining a classic here! Documentary my a….."

"It is! So is a Christmas Carol! Charlie boy had REAL writers block, and he wasn't in the least bit enamoured with Christmas. So, our department gave him a helping hand! Ooh, ooh…would you rather choose that instead? I can show you your past, present and future instead?"

"No thank you!" Arizona gasped. "Past….drama…..present….drama….future…gonna go out on a limb here, literally, and say….drama!"

"Pessimist!"

"Realist!"

"So, you wanna stick with zero Robbins then huh?"

Again Arizona shook her head before laughing and throwing her hands up in surrender. "Sure! Why not! Beats just sitting here and watching the snow whilst I freeze to death, may as well go with the flow!"

"Yay!" Clarice excitedly clapped her hands together as she started to climb out of the car. "So," she said quickly, "like I said, the other guys had a whole night, you and me? We get the condensed version! So, where do you wanna start?"

"Start?"

Clarice flung the drivers door open and reached in to grab Arizonas arm. "Yep. Start! Where, or WHO do you wanna start with?" When Arizona merely stared back at her as Clarice sighed then tugged Arizona out of her seat. "Fine!" she muttered, "we start at the beginning. Recognise this place?"

Arizona gasped as she stepped out into the front yard of her family home. "Oh!" she smiled as she saw the old tree house, then frowned at the state of disrepair the house seemed to be in. She frowned again as she took in the flaking paint on the walls and the overgrown yard. "This, this isn't right! My dad is so house proud, and mom loves her garden!"

Clarice dragged Arizona up on to the porch and pointed into the front window. Squinting as she leaned forward, Arizona felt her heart thud in her chest as she saw an old woman sitting, huddled in front of the fire, a small picture frame held in her hands as she sobbed quietly. "Mom?" she gasped as she looked more closely. "Is this the future?" she asked as she glanced at Clarice

"No" the other woman said sadly. "Present day! The date, the year hasn't changed. All that has changed, is you never existed! That's all. So, their lives would be, so much easier right?"

"She looks, so old!" Arizona whispered. "What, what happened?"

"Her heart is broken"

"No! No! My mom is so, strong, so cheerful, so…so perky! This isn't right! What, what happened? How? How did this happen?"

Clarice sighed and pointed at the picture frame in Barbaras hand. "Her son. Timothy"

"Tim?"

"Well HE still existed!" Clarice have Arizona a nudge as if to say focus. "Her son. He, he was never, a happy child. Struggled to make friends, he and his parents moved from base to base so much he barely had time to talk to anyone new before they were packing and moving on! He had nobody to share that with, nobody to talk to…"

"He had ME!"

"You were never born remember?" Clarice whispered

Arizona sighed before asking. "What, what happened to him?"

"He graduated, but went straight into the army. Not the Marines, he didn't, he didn't make the grade. Infantry."

"No! He went to college, got in to Officer training, flew through the Marine training, and passed them with honours, highest scoring student!"

"He never went to college, he only just graduated. And he was too shy to really push himself so didn't make the grade to even get passed the Marine recruitment let alone training. He, he was miserable, he hated army life but did it cos of his dad. He was killed when the troop carrier he was in drove over an IED"

"NO! He died giving covering fire to a group of 12 soldiers trapped by insurgents! He killed 8 of the enemy before finally succumbing to his wounds. He survived, he fought, but it was too much, and he died two days later on the flight back to Germany!"

"Those 12 soldiers that were trapped? They all died! Nobody there to fight for them. The Taliban moved in a rocket launcher and blew their hiding place to smithereens. The ONLY survivor of the attack, died two days later, on a plane back to Germany"

"No!" Arizona gasped

"Your dad. He couldn't handle losing his only son. He turned to drink. Big time. Shut your mother out and tried to drown his sorrow. He died in a car crash two years after Tim. He was drunk, passed out at the wheel, went over a ravine"

"Oh God!"

"Your mom, was left alone. She didn't have many friends. Her life had been wrapped up in your fathers. Her friends had been other army wives, they gradually drifted away as your dad drank away his career, when he died, the army welfare reduced her pension as he had been DUI, and she found his life insurance had been used to pay for gambling debts. She has a small part time job to make ends meet, but no time and no confidence to make new friends. So this, this is her life now."

"She has Sofia, Callie…ME!"

Clarice gently slapped the back of her head and tutted. "Jeez, thought you were supposed to be smart! YOU don't exist, she has never heard of Callie, she has no living children, so she has NO grandchildren. Getting the picture yet? No? Well then…how about we go visit another person who you think would be better off without you huh?"

Before Arizona could reply, the other woman reached out and grasped onto her shoulder and pulled her to her feet, roughly spinning her around. "Oof!" she gasped as she collided with the edge of a bar. "What?" she shook her head slightly dazed. "What are we doing here?"

"Recognise anyone?" Clarice asked, her eyebrow slightly raised

Arizona cast a quick glance around the dark dingy bar, her lip twisting in disdain as she took it all in. There were only five people that she could see. An old man who appeared to be asleep, a middle aged woman with enough make up to keep the chorus line of a Broadway show happy, a long haired greasy looking drunk, with a beard that looked as if it could have something living in it, a bald man with a T-shirt that could once have been white but was now a grubby beer stained grey, and the bartender…who looked so bored his eyes were barely focusing. "No!" she said as she shook her head. "No, I don't, I don't recognise ANYONE. Thank God"!

"No?" Clarice stepped forward a fraction and pointed back to the bar. "Look again!" she said as she directed Arizonas gaze to the greasy looking guy

Arizona stepped forward, her eyes squinting in the dingy light. She gasped as recognition hit her. "ALEX!"

"Looks a bit different from your bright eyed deputy huh?"

Arizona stepped up to him and rested her hand on his shoulder

"Hey hey hey" he grumbled. "Hands off lady!"

"You can, you can see me?" she asked as her eyes glanced over to Clarice

Alex chuckled. "Lady, I dunno what you bin drinkin', but worrever it is…make mine a double! Can I see you? Lady, I can see TWO of you!"

"Alex, it's me….Arizona!"

"Ari, what? Who? Wah kinda stooped name ish that. Arishnonna? Stoopid name"

"Alex!"

"Where do you get off callin' me my name when I don't know you? Get out ma face blondie!"

Arizona bit down on her bottom lip as she watched him knock back the contents of the glass in front of him before downing half a bottle of beer and signalling the barman for a refill

"Lemme see the colour of your money first Karev!" the barman said gruffly sighing as Alex threw several dirty notes on the bar. "Keep me topped up till that runs out!" Alex hissed as he quickly swallowed the last of his beer. He turned to face Arizona, smirking as he let his eyes travel appreciatively up and down her body. "Well now, maybe you CAN call me Alex, you can call me…anytime in fact! Wanna, go somewhere for a private party?"

"What?" Arizona gasped, stepping back as Alex waved his hand at her and mumbled something about cock tease and uptight blondes ruining his life

Clarice stepped forward and pulled Arizona in to the far corner. "He is in a good mood today huh?"

"I'm almost afraid to ask, but, what happened to him?"

"He lost his way, and had nobody there to help him back" Clarice signalled her to sit down, but after looking at the state of the chair Arizona wrinkled her nose and indicated she would prefer to stand. "Suit yourself!" Clarice grinned. "So, Alex. WHERE do I begin? WELL…he was the same brash, arrogant resident you first met. And he got involved with Izzie, all that still happened…Callie married George, George cheated on Callie with Izzie, Callie and George split up…Izzie doesn't want George after all, and rebounds to Alex, but decides HE is the love of her life…you keeping up here? Did say it had to be the condensed version?"

Arizona nodded and whispered. "So, Alex, married Izzie? Still? She still got cancer, and he still married her?"

"Fixed points in everyones life remember?"

"What does that mean?" Arizona gave a small laugh

Clarice smiled. "You'll see. But for Izzie, her fixed point was fighting cancer, and deciding she wanted to live!"

Arizona nodded slowly. "But, I don't get it. Why, I mean, how is Alex…like this? If Izzie lived, if she made it, then why is he here?!"

"He got into medicine for two reasons. He was smart, and he wanted to make money! He did the surgical residency and planned a career as a plastic surgeon, big bucks! And, he was doing well to! Mark Sloan mentored him, and he eventually set himself up as a junior partner in a private practice! His good looks made him a hit with the ladies, pulled in more patients, he was the golden boy, as you'd expect. But, he _**hated **_it! Every, boring second of it! No challenge, no, rush of successfully saving a life….saving the drooping bust just doesn't compete ya know! So, he drank, to make it all seem better. He drank, and he slept with patients and nurses….colleagues wives, any woman between 16 and 60, if she was willing he was able. Anything to deaden the boredom. He had nobody to talk to, nobody who wanted to listen to a rich plastic surgeon whine on about how tough his life was. Nobody to guide him when he started down that trail of self-destruction, nobody to take his hand and pull him back. After all his drinking and womanizing it was no shock when Izzie left him, took him for half his earnings, landed him with half her medical bills to! Then, he got cocky in surgery, had one too many liquid lunches, performed a surgery that should have been so easy he could do it blindfold. Turns out he couldn't do it blind drunk! The patient was paralysed, they sued, Alex immediately lost job and his share in the practice, then his licence. He climbed into a bottle, and hasn't climbed out since!"

"Oh God! Poor Alex!" Arizona gasped

"Poor Alex? What about Irene Chumsky? She only went in to have her crows feet tightened before her daughters wedding! Now, she eats through a tube, and lies in the same bed day in, day out. She didn't see her daughters wedding, she doesn't see much of anything. And, it's Alexs fault!"

Arizona sat down on the chair and let her head drop into her hands. "I, I can't get my head round this! Alex is a brilliant, BRILLIANT surgeon! He drinks sure, but NEVER before a surgery. Never!"

"That's the Alex you know. The Alex Karev who got lucky when a certain Peds surgeon saw something magical in him and decided to make it her mission to mould him into being the best of the best. Who pushed him, nagged him, nurtured him, mothered him and protected him. But most of all, listened to him! Became his friend. His family. You weren't there, you don't…."

"Exist! Yeah, I'm getting the message. Thanks!"

"Finally!"

Arizona chewed on her lip as she stared over at Alex. "What about Meredith? She is his friend? Or Yang? And Jo! Ooh yeah…Jo. They live together now!"

"He never met her! He was in private practice when she joined the hospital as a resident. She is currently in jail…."

"Wait! WHAT?"

"Her boyfriend, he beat her up, the night of the big storm. She fought back! Alex wasn't there to drag his sorry butt in to the hospital, he wasn't there to get anyone to operate in time, and he wasn't there to prevent the idiot pressing charges! Not that that mattered this time round. The boyfriend died of his head wound, and Jo Wilson was sentenced to 8 years for manslaughter. She works as a nurses aid in the hospital infirmary!"

"No! I….no!" Arizona was shaking her head as she muttered. "This is crazy! She worked with me on my peds ward, she is a great doctor! She works so well with Callie to, could even be HER protégé!"

"YOUR peds ward huh? Hmmm, yeah, about that!" Clarice reached for Arizonas arm and dragged her to her feet, pushing her forwards slightly.

As Arizona stumbled she grabbed hold of the table in front of her, gasping when she realised she was now clinging to the nurses statin in her beloved paediatric ward. She blinked as she looked around, noticing how….sterile everywhere was. The colourful murals had been painted over, the cuddly toys and fluffy animal posters had been removed, the toy box and playpen in the corner had been turned into a block of plastic chairs. But most disturbing of all, was the large, glowing sing, of a Pegasus, shining brightly on almost every wall. "What the hell?" she muttered

"Welcome!" Clarice said brightly, "To Pegasus Seattle West!"

Arizonas mouth dropped open as she gazed around her. She looked at several of the nurses and shook her head as she failed to recognise any of them. She was still looking around when she finally caught sight of one familiar face. "Derek?" she whispered as she took a small step forward. "Derek Shepherd?"

The man with the shock of grey hair turned to smile politely at her. "Yeah, can, can I help you?" he asked, automatically reaching his right hand out to shake hers in greeting

As she reached her own hand to respond, Arizonas eyes fell on his left arm, more significantly the sling holding it in place. "Hi!" she said quickly

"Do I know you?" he asked politely. "I'm sorry, I'm not as good with names andfacesas I used to be, down side of being the hospital administrator!"

"Administrator?" Arizona whispered as she glanced at Clarice

Before the other woman could give any sort of reply Dereks pager went off. He smiled and excused himself, giving Arizona a chance to reach over and grab her traveling companions arm. "What happened to him, his hand? He is still in a sling!"

"Yup! The plane he was on, traveling to Boise, still crashed. Lexie Grey still died, Mark Sloan to. But it was Teddy Altman who lost her leg…."

"What? Teddy?"

"The surgery in Boise was on a man with a cardiac tumour. Yang and Altman were the leads, Derek was there to help with the secondary tumour in his spine, Meredith there to help him! Mark was doing the reconstruction on the two surgical sites and Lexie was his intern!"

"But, the conjoined twins?"

Clarice smiled sadly. "There was never a pioneering attempt made to save the first set at Seattle Grace, sadly those twins died, complications with their kidneys, they were never separated. The set at Boise, died three weeks after being born!"

Arizona shook her head. "No, I saved them! The surgery went well….and…right…I never existed!"

"You're getting the picture! Wallace, your short gut kid?"

Arizona nodded

"He died four weeks before his 9th birthday, the kid with the liver failure you treated your first few days as Head of Peds? He died. Nobody willing to step up and say the old treatment hadn't been working! The girl who got shot at the high scholl…lost her leg, Stark had his way…no Alex to argue, no Arizona to back him up. I mean, sheesh, do you want me to go through ALL the patients you saved, and who now are dead or suffering because you don't exist?"

"No!" Arizona said slowly as her mind reeled. "But, you didn't tell me why Dereks hands is still I a sling. I didn't operate on him,. That was Callie!"

Clarice gave a small smile. "It was, yeah. One of the best Ortho surgeons there ever was, she could have been the greatest!"

"Could have been?"

Clarice reached over and pulled Arizona to her, then just as quickly pushed her away. As the blond took in her surroundings she felt her knees buckle and she slowly sank to the ground in front of a white marble headstone. "NO!" she sobbed. "God, no!"

Stepping forward Clarice rested her hands on Arizonas shoulders as she read out loud. "In Loving Memory of Calliope Iphegenia Torres. Beloved daughter and sister"

Blinking away the tears that were blinding her, Arizona gazed at the date on the stone before asking. "The date of the car crash? That….that still happened?"

"Fixed points. I did try to tell you" Clarice sat down next to Arizona and softly told her. "After Erica, Callie decided that she had made a mistake, and that she didn't like women that way, it was just a …phase! So, her and Mark decided to try and make a go of things! They liked each other, they ALWAYS had ab active sex life…"

"I don't need ALL if the details…."

"And they made each other laugh! They knew they didn't love each other, not the way you should. But, they were ok, they got by! It was an open relationship, until Mark fell for Lexie, and Callie realised Erica hadn't been a phase! BUT, at the same time they realised all this, Callie was pregnant! So, they decided to get married and just, make a go of it! They were heading for a weekend break after Callies baby shower, just to unwind and plan a small wedding….when the truck came out of nowhere! Mark was hurt, bumped his head, but Callie, she had taken her seat belt off to reach into the back seat for her phone, so , she went through the windscreen!"

Arizonas eyes were closed but she was nodding at her own memories. "Sofia?"

"Callies baby didn't make it. She went into early labour in surgery, there wasn't a doctor good enough to save her daughter, she died an hour after being born. And Callie. Well now. There was nobody there to beg her to live, nobody who needed her so badly, who loved her so much that she couldn't leave. Three days after the accident, Calliope Torres died from her injuries. Mark was sad, of course, devastated even, but after a while….Lexie helped him recover!"


	4. Chapter 4

Arizona struggled to catch her breath as she read, and re-read the inscription, her fingers gently trailing over the words in the hope of making them disappear. Blinking away the tears that were blinding her, Arizona gazed again at the date on the stone before asking. "The date….that's a few days after the car crash? That….that still happened?"

"Fixed points. I did try to tell you" Clarice sat down next to Arizona and softly told her. "After Erica, Callie decided that she had made a mistake, and that she didn't like women that way, it was just a …phase! So, her and Mark decided to try and make a go of things! They liked each other, they ALWAYS had ab active sex life…"

"I don't need ALL if the details…."

"And they made each other laugh! They knew they didn't love each other, not the way you should. But, they were ok, they got by! It was an open relationship, until Mark fell for Lexie, and Callie realised Erica hadn't been a phase! BUT, at the same time they realised all this, Callie was pregnant! So, they decided to get married and just, make a go of it! They were heading for a weekend break after Callies baby shower, just to unwind and plan a small wedding….when the truck came out of nowhere! Mark was hurt, bumped his head, but Callie, she had taken her seat belt off to reach into the back seat for her phone, so, she went through the windscreen!"

Arizonas eyes were closed but she was nodding at her own memories. "Sofia?"

"Callies baby didn't make it. She went into early labour in surgery, there wasn't a doctor good enough to save her daughter, she died an hour after being born. And Callie. Well now. There was nobody there to beg her to live, nobody who needed her so badly, who loved her so much that she couldn't leave. Three days after the accident, Calliope Torres died from her injuries. Mark was sad, of course, devastated even, but after a while….Lexie helped him recover!"

Again Arizona closed her eyes as a memory flooded through her mind

_Arizona held tightly to Callies hand as the brunette lay there, pale and battered. "She hasn't opened her eyes yet!" Arizona was saying softly. "But she is looking for you. I can tell. She is looking for you"_

"_Can you live? For me? Can you live, for me?" Arizona heard her words echoing back at her and felt the tears flow down her cheeks_

She felt the tears flowing down her cheeks and sobbed gently as the words echoed over and over in her mind. "Live for me" Arizona whispered

Clarice smiled gently as she tightened her grip on the blondes shoulders. "She heard those words Arizona. She heard you beg her to live. And she knew, she knew she could never leave you. Your Callie lived, because of her love for you, because of the love you have for each other. The love she had for Mark here, was not strong enough. She didn't fight to live, she had nothing, and nobody to fight for. Nobody to will her to live. Nobody to pull her back. And so, she succumbed to her injuries. Her unnamed daughter buried with her. There was no Ortho Goddess to operate on Derek, he never operated again after the crash. When the Pegasus Company took over, they fired half the staff and hired temps and part timers. Richard Webber retired, Miranda Bailey moved to LA with Ben Warren rather than see her beloved hospital change….Derek and Meredith didn't have a second child, he was too depressed, and so was she! She never really recovered from losing Lexie, and from Dereks injuries…so she moved to Boston, without him!"

"STOP….please…..just, stop. Oh God, Sofia!" Arizona hissed as she closed her eyes again. "Her daughter, Callies daughter…OUR daughter is Sofia! And she didn't die! She lived! She is a happy, and beautiful little girl. She is smart, and funny, and kind, and so like her mother. She is my world. Callie. Callie, is my world. THEY didn't die! They didn't die!" Arizona staggered to her feet and shook her head. "Ok, ok I get it. I made a difference! Ok, there, I get it! Now please, take me back….set this straight! Make it right again. Make her live again! Make everything go back to normal. Please. I'm begging you. Just, make this right!"

Clarice nodded and reached for Arizonas hand, at the touch of the other womans hands, Arizona opened her eyes, and gasped as she realised she was back in her freezing car. Glancing over her shoulder she spotted that the injured man and boy were not there. Looking at the other woman Arizona narrowed her eyes and asked softly. "Is this over?" Are we done now?"

Clarice chuckled. "You tell me?"

With a small sigh the blonde shook her head and whispered. "I get that I made a difference. Thank you, it, it has made me realise that I had a good life…."

"Had?"

"Had. I made a difference. I have friends who matter, and whose lives I have helped. And, and I had Callie. She loved me, I knew it then, of course I did, but didn't appreciate how much! She loved me, and that, that is perhaps the best thing I have done in my life, shown her how amazing love can be! But, that was the old me! She loved, the old me! Now, she needs to be free! And, I think she is right…."

"Oh whoa! They told me you were in a bad place, but jeez girl! I have shown you how important you are, yet you still are sitting here like Santa forgot your toys! What do I have to do to kick start your life again girl?"

Arizona gave a small laugh. "Nothing. You don't have to do anything! You see, you have shown me who I used to be, WHAT I used to be. And you have shown me how that Arizona Robbins was important. But, you have also shown me that my job is done! Alex is a kick ass surgeon who no longer needs me as his mentor, or friend! He has Jo to, and is being so grown in their relationship that I am sure this is it for him! Sofia is thriving, and has Callie to watch over her. And Callie, she isn't suffocating anymore! She is free! She didn't marry this wretched, insecure self-involved wreck….and it is no surprise she doesn't love me anymore! Perhaps, instead of asking you to make me not exist, to never have existed….I should have asked you to….to, end it, end me. And set her free! No guilt. No struggling to be polite, or friendly. Just. Free. Let her start over again. Be with someone worthy of her…."

"Oh please!" Clarice yelled. "Enough with the pity party! Fine, fine. You know what. You want it to be over? Then fine! It's cold out here. Freezing! You had no jacket on when you were out there, it could be hours until you are found. So Fine. It ends. Now. Here. That's what you want? Then, consider it done!"

"Just like that?"

Clarice nodded. "Just like that"

Arizona stared at her, then started to glance around. "Uhm, should there be a white light or something? Or, Tim walking towards me to welcome me home to the other side? A celestial choir maybe?" she half grinned

"Celestial cho….? Girlfriend, this time of year? Seriously? They are busy! And the white light, well, yeah, you'll get that, Tim to if he isn't partying…I mean, otherwise engaged! He, by the way, has already graduated to Angel First Class, got his wings in record time. Bit of an over achiever if you ask me but…."

"Clarice?"

"Hmm?"

"The light?"

"Oh! Oh yeah. Well, you'll get it. If you are absolutely sure that you are ready to go!"

Arizona nodded. "I'm sure. I'm really sure."

"Really?"

"Uh hmm"

Clarice nodded. "Well, just hold that thought for two ticks, lemme show you something first. Ok?"

"Ok" Arizona mumbled, gasping slightly as Clarice reached for her hand. As the world around her seemed to spin, Arizona held her breath and closed her eyes to steady herself. Slowly, she felt things settle, and opened her eyes to find herself in the Attendings Lounge of her hospital. Her heart caught in her throat when she looked up and saw Callie, leaning against the window and staring out at the snow. "Beautiful" she whispered as she stared at the woman who still held her heart and soul

Callie sighed deeply and shook her head a fraction. "Dammit Arizona!" she muttered. "Dammit! Why do you have to be so, stubborn!"

"You want to set her free?" Clarice whispered into Arizonas ear. "You think that will be better for her? Are you so sure of that?"

Before Arizona could answer, she watched as Meredith walked into the room, followed by a tall police officer. "Callie!" Meredith said softly. "There's news"

Callies eyes went wide as she slowly walked towards the cop. "Tell me" she whispered

"I'm Officer Joseph Marley ma'am. Are you Calliope Torres, wife of Arizona Robbins?"

Callie swallowed and slowly nodded

The man looked nervously at Meredith before softly clearing his throat. "Then. Dr Torres, regret to inform you, that we have reason to believe, your wife, Arizona Robbins, has been killed in a road traffic accident…."

"Oh God!" "Reason to believe?" Callie and Meredith both cried at the same time

Callie felt as if the air had been pulled out of her, her legs began to buckle and she sank down into the nearest chair. She swallowed several times, her eyes were fixed wide open and her head was shaking. "No!" she mumbled. "No…."

"Officer" Meredith asked softly. "Reason to believe?"

"Yes ma'am. The patrol checking the closed roads, found the scene of the accident. The bridge on the pass. Looks like the car misjudged the turn on to the bridge, crashed through the barrier, and went down the embankment."

"Oh, I. I see." Meredith stammered. "And, it's Arizona….uhm, Dr Robbins car?"

The police man shuffled nervously and twisted his cap in his hand. "No. I mean. We don't know. The embankment was sodden. Snow and slush. No grip. The car, the car seems to have slid right down, and eventually, well….."

Meredith gasped and whispered. "It went in the river?"

Marley nodded and muttered. "Yes ma'am. They found Dr Robbins jacket on the side, there was an ID in the jacket pocket. There was blood and broken glass all around, but no trace of Dr Robbins. We think she was still in the car when it, when it slipped into the river"

Callie could hear a strange noise, startled when she realised it was her, gasping to breathe. Her chest was tight and her mind was spinning. Arizona? What was the man in blue saying? A river? A car? A jacket? Why did Meredith look like that? Why was she asking if she was ok? Arizona? Arizona? "ARIZONA!" Callie screamed, then started to cry, her sobs causing her whole body to shake

As if from nowhere, Miranda Bailey came racing into the room, hotly followed by Owen and Derek. Miranda had a syringe, without any ceremony she grabbed Callies arm and plunged the needle in, whispering soothingly. ""We're here Callie. We're all here for you. This will help. Just let it help…."

"What is it?" Meredith asked softly as she came to stand by Callie and wrap her arms around her broken friend

"A sedative" Bailey replied sadly. "Saw you with the cop, heard he was looking for Callie. Knew he wasn't here with good news, and knowing how much Arizona means to Callie, knew she would take it hard. I was there for the four days you were missing enroute to Boise!"

Meredith nodded and looked down at Callie. "Honey? Why don't you come with me, we'll go to the on call room and you can get some rest. Sofia is already asleep in the day care, so come on honey, rest"

"Sofia?" Callie mumbled groggily, allowing herself to be pulled to her feet and guided towards the nearest on call room. 2Sofia will want her Momma! Why doesn't she want to be with us at Christmas Mer? Does she hate me? Does Arizona hate me? I, I was hoping she would be there, even if just for the day, because I miss her! I miss her so much! I LOVE her. I wanted to ask her, if she would come home1 Even if just for Christmas! I wanted her to come home, so I could tell her, tell her I miss her….enough!"

By now Callie was lying on the bed and Meredith was tucking the blanket in around her, nodding as she saw the sedative taking effect. She gently stroked Callies hair back and told her. "Arizona didn't hate you Callie, she could never hate you. Never. You were the love of her life, you WERE her life…"

"She was mine…" Callie mumbled groggily. "And I didn't get the chance to ask her…."

"Ask her?"

"If we could try again. If she missed me enough, to try again…." And with that Callie rolled on to her side and drifted off to sleep

"Oh Callie!" Meredith sighed. "I wish the two of you had just that little more time, I wish you could have found each other again, and tried again. I wish…I wish you could have found the happiness you both deserved" With another soft sigh, Meredith climbed off the bed and headed out to meet up with the others.

Arizona softly stepped forward from the shadows she had been standing in as she watched Callie fall apart. "She wants to try again?" she gasped

"Yeah. Real shame you are giving up o life huh?" Clarice just shrugged a fraction

Arizona quickly stood and shook her head a fraction. "No!" she mumbled. "No. Sure she is upset right now, and that, that's sweet. But she'll get over it, she'll recover!"

"Really?"

"Callie is strong. She will be fine!" Arizona took another step away from the sleeping form of her wife. "She is strong!"

Clarice gave a soft chuckle. "The grieving Callie Torres gives up her Warrior Programme, she has no time to build prosthetics when her daughter needs her so much1 And Sofia DID need her, that little girl had nightmares about her missing Momma for years after you died. Finally she settled, but by then, Callie had walked away from all aspects of research. She scaled down her hours in surgery, and turned more to the administration side of things. Callie never remarried. She dated, men and women, but if anything even looked like getting serious she ran away, too scared to get her heart crushed again. Every year on your birthday she would lay flowers on your grave, every year at Christmas she would light a candle for you at Midnight Mass. She stayed in touch with your parents, cared for them as if they were her own…tried to be a daughter to them. All in all, she had a quiet life, not lonely, she had her friends and her flings. But she never truly felt, alive! Never truly felt, joy. That ended, here, tonight, at the hospital and the words of that cop. Her joy ended, her soul broke. She had nobody to fight for, nobody to live for…when Sofia graduated med school, Callie just, let go. Slowly but surely, she let go. She died in her sleep, three days shy of her 52nd birthday…she couldn't wait any longer to be with you, to ask if you would try again!"

As she had talked, Arizona had found herself drawn back to the sleeping woman on the bed. She had sat down on the edge, and slowly reached over to stroke her hair as she listened to Clarice. "52?" she whispered. "No. Callie will live forever! She will make those war vets walk, she will win the Harper Avery, and she will live forever!"

Clarice walked forward and gently placed her hand on Arizonas shoulder. "Don't you want to be there to see that?" she asked softly

With a small sob Arizona whispered. "Yes! Oh God yes. I want to see it all. I want to be there every step of the way. I want to try again. I want to live, I want to live…I want to live….."

"Miss?"

Arizona jumped a fraction at the small voice of a child. "Miss. Where am I? Miss?"

Opening her eyes she turned to the passenger seat and let out a small laugh as she saw the young boy staring back at her. "Hi!" she smiled at him

"Hi!" he smiled shyly back. "Where's my daddy?"

Turning in her seat, Arizona gave another small laugh as she saw the unconscious man sprawled across the back seat. "He's in the back buddy" she chuckled. "He's there, he's there!"

"I'm cold!" the boy shivered

"Me to!" Arizona grinned as she reached for the key in the ignition. "Sorry, must have dozed off and the engine stalled" She turned the key and grinned as the engine fired into life. "But let's get the heater on hey…and you can keep me awake by telling me all about you and you dad!"

[xx]

Callie grumbled as she felt somebody shaking her awake. "Go away" she mumbled swatting at the hands

"Move your ass now Torres!" Miranda chuckled. "You're needed in the ambulance bay!"

Callie sat up slowly and groaned. "What the hell did you drug me with? An elephant tranquiliser?"

"Close!"

"God, I feel hung-over!" Suddenly Callies eyes went wide. "Arizona" she whispered, tears already trailing down her cheek. "I can't work Miranda. Go away, find someone else!"

"Never said nuthin' 'bout working! Just said you were needed in the ambulance bay" her friend smiled broadly back, standing up and dragging Callie to her feet. "Now, move!"

Callie just shook her head and pouted, but as she saw the sparkle in Baileys eyes, she allowed herself to feel hope, and before she knew it she was running as fast as her feet could carry her to the ambulance bay. Slamming through the doors just as an ambulance pulled in she looked hopefully at Meredith, laughing loudly as she saw the small nod her friend gave her. She stepped forward as the paramedic hopped down and went to open the rear doors, frowning as he quickly looked at her and shook his head. "Not this one!" he told her with a chuckle. "That one!" he added as he pointed to the police patrol car pulling in behind the wagon

With a yell of triumph Callie raced over and threw open the rear passenger door, half dragging Arizona out and pulling her into her arms as the blonde struggled to find her feet. "I thought I'd lost you!" she sobbed as she buried her face into the soft blonde hair of the woman she loved. "I thought I had lost you forever!"

Arizona smiled and reached up to wipe away the tears from Callies cheeks. "You didn't lose me. I'm here, and I'm not going to ever leave you. Callie…I know who I am now. I'm Arizona Robbins, kick ass Peds surgeon, ace mentor and teacher, worlds greatest daughter, I was a pretty great sister to, and I am an awesome friend. I KNOW who I am. I remember, who I am. And, and what I am….is a woman who loves you, so completely, so totally, that I, I don't want to live my life without you1 I know you wanted your freedom, and I get that our marriage was suffocating you! We kept trying to be who we were when we met and married, but we're not, we have changed, we are different people! But we were so busy trying to be the old us so we didn't let each other down that we made each other miserable, and we lost sight of the fact that, even though we have changed, even though we ARE different….ONE thing has stayed the same. Love! We LOVE each other Callie! I mean, if we didn't we wouldn't have been trying so hard to be who we thought the other person wanted! WE would have just walked away! When it all got so hard, we would have walked away…."

"I did walk away" Callie said sadly

Arizona smiled. "You walked away from the marriage! It was toxic! But you didn't run away from ME! Did you?"

Callie gave a small shake of her head as she whispered. "How could I? I love you. Arizona, you asked me if I missed you, a while back, you asked me, then said just not enough. I didn't answer, I couldn't answer. We were still so raw, if I had told you the truth, if I had answered, I would have been a puddle on the floor by your feet! Missed you enough? I missed you too much, and it scared me!"

"I know!" Arizona muttered. "I know. We needed to step back Callie. You were right to do what you did. I had lost my confidence, I hid behind you…you had lost your sense of adventure, and hid behind me" We both needed to step away, to remember who we are, what we are as individuals….to be happy with ourselves, to be like ourselves again! If you aren't happy, how can you make anyone else happy right?"

"Right!" Callie gave a small shy smile

"Well, I know who I am now Callie. I do….." before she could carry on Arizona suddenly started to shiver

"And I know who you are to. You are someone who needs to get inside and get warmed up properly before you get hypothermia"

"True!" Arizona grinned back before adding softly. "I'm also someone who wants to, to come home for Christmas!"

"Really?" Callies smile lit up her face

"Really!" Arizona nodded as they walked into the ER. "Oh, wait up a sec" she limped over to the bay that the father and son had been put in, smiling as she saw the man was now awake and holding his sleeping son as he slept next to him. "Hi!" she said quietly

"Hi!" he said back before asking. "Are you Dr Robbins?"

"Yeah, hi! That's me!"

"Wow! I owe you my life…OUR life. But, forgive me, you're so….dainty! How, how did you manage to drag us to your car?"

"Dainty!" Miranda scoffed as she walked into the bay, "and with a prosthetic" Damn Robbins, you Super girl and you never told us?"

"A prosthet…you have one leg?" the man gasped

"Uh hmm!" Arizona bent down and tapped her trouser leg. "But I didn't do it alone! Your wife helped me! Where is she by the way?"

"My wife?" the man stammered

"Yeah, Clarice right?"

"How, how did you know her name?" he gasped

Arizona frowned and then gave a small chuckle. "Like I said, she helped me get you both out of the car!"

The man blinked then looked at Dr Bailey. "You may need to check your friend for head injures!" he said nervously. "My wife, couldn't have helped her, and the cops said there was nobody else around. She is hallucinating!"

"Hey!" Arizona cut in. "Why couldn't she help me? I mean, wasn't hurt, she seemed fine…."

"Describe her!" the man cut in

"What? Oh, well…taller than me, maybe an inch or two. Auburn hair, kinda shoulder length and wavy. Very pale skinned, but hey it was cold out there. And she had a New York accent. Why am I describing her Where is she?"

The man was now visibly paler as he shook his head a fraction. "She was there?" he whispered. "She brought you to us? I thought that was a dream!"

"A Dream?"

"Dr Robbins, my wife was killed in a car accident, two years ago"

"What?"

Miranda Baily looked at the two of them and softly said "We all need a miracle every now and again!"

"Amen to that!" the man whispered

"Yeah!" Arizona mumbled. "Amen"

[xx]

Callie stood gazing out of the window watching the snow fall heavily outside. She took a sip of her hot cocoa and smiled as she felt familiar arms wrap around her. Turning around so she faced Arizona Callie smiled and impulsively bent to gently kiss the blonde

"Hmmm" Arizona murmured appreciatively. "That cocoa tastes good!"

"There's some left in the pan, want me to get it?"

"Nope!" Arizona grinned then slowly pulled Callie into a lingering kiss. "Tastes better this way!"

Callie chuckled and reached over to put her mug down before wrapping her arms around the blonde in front of her. "Sofia asleep?"

"Out like a light. I see you have all the gifts out…I could have helped!"

"Yes, you could have" Callie said before adding seductively, "but I have other things planned for you and I to do this Christmas Eve!"

"Hmmmmm" Arizona chuckled. "Then I am REALLY glad I was able to swap my shifts!"

"I know we said we would take things slowly" Callie muttered. "But Arizona, I want you to know…how HAPPY I am right now. To have you here with me, to be holding you in my arms. I know it has only been two weeks since we decided to try again, and I know we said we would date a while" She sighed and chewed on her lip a fraction. "But we have spent nearly every night since then together, going to dinner, the movies, having a night in with Sofia, a night in alone. And every night, you have kissed me, and gone back to Alexs. Arizona…it's Christmas Eve. Tonight, it's Christmas Eve…"

"Callie?"

"Stay. Tonight. Stay with me. Come home. Come home to me. Stay. Please"

Arizona felt Callies grip on her tighten, she saw the vulnerability in her eyes, saw the hope. Reaching up to push a stray lock of hair away she whispered. "Let's go to bed baby"

Callie smiled and gently kissed Arizona before reaching for her hand and pulling her towards their bedroom, knocking the edge of the Christmas tree as she moved. Arizona hesitated a fraction as she heard the soft tinkle of a bell. "Feeling Arizonas hesitation Callie looked at her and asked softly. "You ok?"

"Yeah" Arizona smiled as she moved closer to Callie. "Just, remembering something" She smiled again as Callie started to lead the way to their room again, and with a glance over her shoulder, back towards the tree, Arizona whispered. "Way to go Clarice! You got your wings! Way to go!"

**AN: Not exactly how I wanted this story to go, but lost the first draft when my laptop blew! Never mind! Just a fun diversion. Hope you enjoyed! A Happy** **and Peaceful Christmas to you all…xxxxx**


	5. Chapter 5- From Strong Foundations

**A/N: Well, I enjoyed writing my little festive piece so much, I decided to do a little add on story for New Year. This is part one…obviously…there won't be many more, maybe 2 or 3. But the old romantic in me just wants to see these two back together and happy! Hope you don't mind! And I will concentrate on my other story to, have a couple of chapters good to go soon. Enough said, al that's left is…HAPPY NEW YEAR! May 2015 bring all your hopes and dreams alive for you, and your families. Walk tall! :o) xx **

Callie groaned as she turned and wriggled in her bed to get comfy. After wriggling again she sighed in frustration and sat up, glancing at the alarm clock and whimpering out loud. She yawned then rubbed at the back of her head and tried to figure why she couldn't sleep. She was tired, really tired, her bed was snug and comfy, Sofia was sleeping, the house was quiet and peaceful. So, why, why, WHY couldn't she sleep?

Climbing out of bed and padding down to the kitchen after deciding a hot cocoa may help, Callie picked up her mobile phone and quickly glanced at her messages, smiling as she spotted the earlier text from Arizona.

_Hey sexy, don't wait up for me tonight, I have been called into a surgery for a Peds trauma, gonna be a long one! Don't wanna wake you so I will head back to Alex's place. Will miss you. Sweet dreams baby xx _

"Missing you too hun" Callie murmured to herself as she selected Gallery on her phone and thumbed through the dozens of photos she had taken the last few days, especially the candid ones of her favourite blonde and their daughter. With a smile playing on her lips Callie stopped on her favourite picture. It had been taken by timer, and Callie had just managed to slide in behind Arizona before the timer went off, Sofia was sitting on her mommas knee and waving her new Tinkerbell wand, Arizona was wearing the woolly Penguin hat Sofia had insisted on buying her, Callie was wearing her Polar Bear version. As the flash had gone off, all three had been laughing and Callies hand had automatically gripped into Arizonas side. They looked happy. They looked like a family, and Callie loved that photo so very, very much.

In the days and weeks since Arizona had managed to save the life of a father and his son, she and Callie had worked at rebuilding a relationship. They had taken it slow, much slower than Callies libido would have liked, but they had spent every evening together either dining out as a couple or camped in front of a DVD with a bowl of popcorn and a very happy little girl between them. They had laughed more and talked more than Callie could ever really remember them doing before, even when they had dated first time round. Maybe it was because they didn't have to spend time with the baby steps of finding if the initial spark was enough to light a candle of desire, hell, the spark between them these days was enough to create an inferno, so the small talk between them had been more about their work projects and catching up.

Their initial conversations were easy, they had fallen back into the gentle teasing they had, the friendly rivalry that really just masked how proud they both were of each other. But, eventually they also talked about them, as a couple, but more importantly, as individuals. Arizona finally got to explain to Callie that she felt insecure when Callie finished her sentences, and Callie explained that she did than in part because she was terrified of Arizona not being happy. By trying to second guess what the blonde was thinking Callie had been mentally preparing how to react in order to put things right, to fix it. They had talked a lot about that, a lot! Arizona adding that by Callie breaking them apart, she had been forced to spend the time rebuilding her confidence, as a person and as a doctor, and she had smiled as she added that she had been helped along the way by a little…angelic intervention, refusing to fully explain, despite Callie trying to tickle her into submission!

Callie, for her part, agreed that the split had also done her good. She was no longer as paranoid about making the wrong choices, she didn't feel the pressure to make everything right for everybody else, to fix everything, to make it perfect. She was happier at work than she had been in a long time, finally finding a challenge that pushed her skills and kept her honing her knowledge, so yeah, work wise, she was flying. More importantly, she knew now that she didn't have to try so hard at home. It wasn't her job to make sure Arizona was happy, well it was…but she didn't have to try so hard! She just had to, relax, and enjoy being together. She could be happy, and not have to make sure everyone else was happy to, that wasn't her job either, their friends, they were grown ups, let them sort their own happiness out. Callie had Arizona and Sofia, she had her….happy!

It wasn't going to be easy. She had to learn listen to what her wife had to say, listen, not guess. And she had to accept that she didn't have to agree with everything the blonde said, or vice versa! It didn't mean they were going to crash and burn, it didn't mean they weren't meant to be together. No. They were allowed to have their own opinions, she was allowed to have her own opinion, it didn't mean that they would argue, just agree to differ And maybe have fun trying the others ideas, especially the more, _adventurous _ones that Callie had often suggested to spice up a certain area of their life!

Callie grinned as she thought of some of her suggestions and the cute way her blonde beauty would blush. Arizona had always been reluctant to try too many new ideas, especially after her accident when she was still somewhat shy about her body after the loss of her leg. But they had talked, properly talked, and Callie had managed to get Arizona to realise that that she didn't just find her sexy because they were married, she found her sexy because she was hot! Smokin' hot! One leg or two didn't diminish that, and the way Callies eyes had sparked during that conversation, the way her eyes had travelled slowly up and down every inch of her, as she had slowly flicked her tongue over her lip, Arizona had been convinced. In fact, the next day at work, she had taken notice of the looks she got from a very cute nurse, and a rather good looking intern. For the first time, in a long time , Arizona felt desirable, but she had told Callie that night, that the only person she wanted to really be desired by, was her wife. They hadn't slept together that night, but Arizona had allowed Callie to take off her prosthetic and massage her tired and achy residual limb as they sat watching The Notebook. As Callie had casually massaged away, she realised it was the first time Arizona had allowed her, willingly, to remove the prosthetic. No fuss, no shy or awkward glances. Just, a smile and whispered thank you as her hands had started to weave their magic. It was like the most natural thing in the world, like the leg had never been an issue.

The leg. Yeah, even **that** subject had been brought up and finally talked about in a calm and easy manner! Callie finally relieved that Arizona was grateful to be alive and had truly, truly forgiven the brunette for the impossible decision she had been forced to make. Apologising for the hell she had put her through, for not being there when Mark died, for pulling away when she had have pulled them together. They had cried, and Arizona had promised that one day, one day, she would sit and tell Callie about the four days she had spent in the forest, waiting for rescue. One day. But, for now, she just wanted Callie to know it was in the past, she had accepted her life had changed forever, but she was stronger now, she was confident again, she was alive and grateful, the nightmares were fading. And, she was right where she wanted to be, with Callie.

Then she had surprised Callie by asking if she had been able to forgive herself yet to, something Callie didn't think the blonde had picked up on. Callie had cried a lot that night, cried for everything Arizona had been through, for everything they had both been through, for what they had lost, what it had cost them….WHO it had cost them, who they had lost. They had both cried. Then smiled as they remembered the times before the crash, remembered the times after the accident when they had been able to have fun, and piece by piece they remembered the magic they had always had together. A magic they still felt between them. A magic too strong to ignore. They had still taken things slowly, though the goodnight kisses as Arizona left for the night lasted longer each time, were more passionate and meaningful. Until, finally, on Christmas Eve, Callie had persuaded Arizona to stay the night, to come home. They had shared their bed again, only it had felt different, felt electrifying, felt both familiar and new at the same time, it had felt…magical. Arizona had stayed Christmas Night to, and it had felt just as amazing, if not better! The night after had been better again, as had the night after, and the night after that! In fact, Arizona had spent every night with Callie until tonight when work had separated them. Despite Arizonas occasional protests and claims that they should go back to taking things a little slower, Callie could be very persuasive when she wanted to, especially after reminding the blonde how good things between them felt. Oh yeah, she had been very persuasive!

With a soft chuckle, Callie glanced at her now empty cocoa mug and realised why she hadn't been able to sleep despite her exhaustion. Arizona! She wasn't there, in bed with her, and despite it only being a few days since that side of their marriage had sprung back to life, Callie already knew that she never wanted Arizona to sleep anywhere but beside her ever again, more importantly, she never wanted to sleep without Arizona next to her, never. Glancing at the clock and at the time of the text, Callie took a chance and sent a two word message.

Come HOME xxxx

Less than 30 seconds later she heard the reply text come through, her smile lighting up her face as she read.

Already on my way. Missed you to ;o) xxxx

Tonight was the 30th December, tomorrow night they were both invited to a big party at Richard Webbers. Callie had been thinking recently, thinking a lot. She had plans, big plans, but as she glanced at the time and then back at her phone she just grinned, and decided for now to just run a bath for her rockstar wife, and maybe a small bottle of wine on ice for them both to share, one way for them to spend the last night of what had proven to be, a very….interesting year.


	6. Chapter 6

Arizona smiled as she pulled into her drive. Her drive. Her home. The home she shared with Callie, her wife. She smiled more brightly, despite the exhaustion seeping through her bones, and switched off the engine. Climbing slowly out of the car, she grabbed her briefcase before clicking the door closed behind her and pressing the auto-lock. She quickly made her way to the front door and fumbled for her key, gasping as suddenly the door swung gently open. "Ca…Callie!" Arizona gasped as her eyes fell on the vision in front of her. Arizona swallowed and stumbled into the house, quickly closing the front door behind her before turning back to gaze at the lingerie clad brunette in front of her. "Calliope" she whispered, "you are beautiful. So, so very beautiful!"

"Hmm, what? This old thing?" Callie grinned and winked at the gawking blonde before giving a slight shrug and turning to walk away. "It was just something I had in the bottom of the closet from…."

"My birthday" Arizona chuckled. "The night Wallace died. But, that lingerie, and the woman wearing it, cheered me up no end. Kept me sane. But right now, wow, now it's driving me crazy!"

"You remembered" Callie whispered as she stopped and slowly turned to look back at the blonde

"Of course I remembered" Arizona whispered back as she took the few small steps forward to bring her close enough to her wife to reach out and gently skim her hand down bare arms before coming up to cup her cheek and pull her forward into a slow, passionate kiss. "I remember everything" she murmured against Callies lips. "Everything"

Hearing that, Callie stepped closer still and wrapped her arms tightly around the shorter womans waist, pulling them even closer, letting her own hands pass up and down Arizonas back before burying themselves deep in her soft curls and tugging slightly to pull her head back, giving Callie access to her neck and collarbone. "God Callie!" Arizona groaned as she felt the brunettes tongue lick her pulse point before her mouth found an earlobe and gently nipped and tugged on it. "We're still, in, the, hall" she gasped. "Bed. Bedroom! Now. Oh God. Cal….Calliope. Now!" she growled out the last word and started to use her own body weight to manoeuvre the two of them back down the hallway to their bedroom. "Ooof, damn!" Arizona huffed as they collided with a chest of drawers. They both froze, waiting to hear if Sofia would wake. After several seconds they decided the coast was clear, and before Arizona knew what was happening, she found herself pinned against the wall of the hallway, her wifes eager hand pushing up the light top she had changed into earlier before leaving the hospital.

Callie hadn't planned this, she had only planned to surprise her tired wife with the look of her in the lingerie she had found when clearing space to hide Sofias present. She had known Arizona would be tired, hell, hadn't she woken the blonde up the best way possible in the early hours of the morning, selfish in a way as Callie got to roll back over and go to sleep, whilst Arizona had climbed out of bed and headed to work, running late and with aching muscles from her and Callies energetic alarm call. And her shift had been a long one, almost fourteen hours, and two emergency surgeries in the mix. Nope, Callie hadn't planned this at all, but as her hand roamed under the blondes top, as her fingers skimmed over the soft warm silky skin, as she felt the pins and needles of electricity every time she touched or stroked that skin, how could she stop. She pushed herself forward and felt her their whole bodies collide, closing her eyes she sought Arizonas mouth with her own, and with a soft moan pushed her tongue between the warm pink lips. She felt her wife bury her hands in her hair, felt the body pressed against her shudder with anticipation and passion. Without breaking their kiss, Callie pulled at the bottom of the blondes top and started tugging it up, gasping as she suddenly felt he wife pushing her away. "Stop, Callie, stop now. CALLIE!"

Slightly dazed, Callie swayed as she stepped back. Her confused eyes locking on the sparkling blue eyes she loved so much. "Arizona?" she whispered

With a small chuckle the shorter woman gently stroked Callies jaw line before leaning in and whispering. "I love you, but baby, the hallway? Outside our daughters bedroom? I can think of a much BETTER place to continue our end of year celebrations, can't you?"

Callie smirked as she lifted an eyebrow, then quickly she reached down and grabbed Arizonas hand, and with a giggle pulled her in front of her, before pushing her forward towards their bedroom, her hands already tugging again at the bottom of her wifes top, before pulling it up and over her head as soon as they stepped into their own room. She tossed the top in the general direction of the laundry hamper, before grabbing at Arizonas shoulders again, and spinning her so they faced each other, Callies eyes going wide as she allowed her eyes to roam from top to bottom of the vision in front of her. She licked her lips and drew in a shaky breath. "You get more beautiful every time I look at you" she breathed out. "Ever goddam time" she added as she slowly paced forward, watching through hooded eyes as Arizona slowly took steps back towards the bed

"And you are the most amazing woman I have ever known" Arizona whispered back. "Sexy, hot, smart, and mine. All, mine"

"You know it!" Callie smiled as with a gentle push she knocked the blonde back onto the bed before slowly climbing up after her and easing her wife back to lie down, allowing her own body to come to rest on top, her hands reaching for the hips they knew so well, and pulling their bodies closer still. "Enough talking" she husked as she bent to nuzzle at the neck that hypnotised her, "I love you" she whispered, "now let me show you"

"Hmmm" Arizona purred as she felt Callies hands reaching where she wanted them to be. "If this is how we see out the old year, can't WAIT to see how we bring in the new!"

A little while later, the two of them lay breathlessly in each others arms. Arizona smiled as she heard Callie whisper "I, I ran a bath for you. Earlier. When I knew you were coming home. I ran a bath"

"It may be a little cold by now huh?" the blonde in her arms chuckled

With a small chuckle of her own Callie nodded. "Guess so. I just, I didn't want you thinking I planned this. I mean, I know I met you at the door wearing that lingerie, but I just wanted to show you, just wanted to make you smile after a hard day. I didn't mean to, to….seduce you like that! I didn't mean to get, so carried away! Urgh, Arizona! You are like drug to me! I lose all control around you!" Arizona was giggling now, the sound doing nothing to calm down Callies raging libido. "Seriously woman! Do you KNOW what you do to me? I'm a badass! I'm in control of everything in my life…except you and what you do to me!"

Arizona snuggled closer still as she reached up and pushed a stray lock of dark hair behind Callies ear. With a small smile she cupped Callies chin in her hand and forced the brunette to look straight into her eye. "Oh my love, do YOU have any idea what you do to me? For me? You bring me to life, you make me, make me happy beyond words. You make me, complete. You make me, happy! So happy. Callie, I. I…I love you"

"You do?"

"Yeah" Arizona whispered before leaning forward and slowly but gently kissing the woman in her arms. "I do. I always have. I always will. You're in my heart Calliope Torres, you ARE my heart. I love you"

Callie gave a small sigh and shook her head before looking back up into the sparkling blue eyes that mesmerised her so much. "I love you to. Arizona?"

"Hmm?"

"I meant to do this tomorrow night, but, but I can't wait"

"Callie? What are you doing?" Arizona gasped as she watched her wife climb out of bed and reach into her bedside cabinet, before dropping down on one knee at the side of and reaching for the blondes hands. "You're shaking!"

Callie nodded and licked her lips before looking back at her wife and smiling nervously. "Oh, wow. I didn't think I would be so nervous!" She gave a small chuckle before taking in a shaky breath and giving a small nod to herself. "Arizona Michelle Robbins. I love you. So much. And I know it seems crazy to do this now, when we are just getting back to where we need to be. But, as my dad….and yours….would say. When you know, you know!"

"Callie?"

"Marry me Arizona! Legally this time! Marry me?" Callie took in another deep breath as she watched Arizonas eyes widen and her head start to shake quickly. Automatically, the dark haired woman reached up to gently rest her hand on the blondes cheek, and leaned forward a fraction to make sure the other woman looking straight at her as she whispered. "I tried living without you, I tried. And failed. I hated it, every second, every minute of every day, I hated it! We have had so many bad things happen to us Arizona, so many. And we have been pulled apart by them! But each time, somehow, some, some THING has found a way to pull us back together again. WE, have fought to be together again. I get the feeling that fate is trying to keep us together, and who am I to argue with fate right? I mean, even this last split, man I thought that was it, thought we were over. Andmy heart Arizona, my heart, it hurt so much, I could barely breath! I KNOW we have said we did the right thing, and we did, we did. We had to have something to shake us up and wake us up. But Arizona, as you said yourself, no matter how bad things got, one thing remained the same. I love you, and I know you love me, and nothing else matters. Nothing….."

"Callie, I….."

"Don't you see? We have reached rock bottom in our lives, our marriage hit the rocks and we didn't know how to cope because….because all we knew was how to be happy together. When things went wrong, badly, wrong…we, we didn't know how to deal with it, we didn't know how to help each other when we were both hurting so much. And, and we got it wrong. Instead of talking to each other and trying to work it out together, we pulled into ourselves, pulled apart. We are never going to do that again. NEVER! I can't, I can't promise that we won't have tough times ahead, can't promise things won't get….get bad again. But I CAN promise, I will listen, I will. And I can promise, that I will never leave, I will never leave you again. How could I when I can't survive without you. You're my joy Arizona, my world. You and Sofia….my world. So please, please…..marry me? Marry me?"

"We were going to take things slowly!" Arizona smiled as she looked at the ring in Callies hand before looking up into the warm brown eyes that mesmerised her."THIS? This is slowly? My naked girl, down on bended knee holding an engagement ring in her hand?" She smiled as Callie glanced down at her naked body and shrugged slightly. "This is slowly?"

"Not how I planned it!" Callie grinned back, "I thought of asking you at Merediths party tomorrow night!"

"Hope you were planning on wearing something different, well….wearing something at least!"

"Would it encourage you to say yes if I planned to ask you dressed like this tomorrow night to?"

Arizona laughed as she shook her head. "NO! It, it wouldn't influence my answer, but may mean we don't get invited to many more parties!"

"You're killing me here!" Callie muttered, "and my knee is going numb….and my butt is cold!"

"Awww, poor baby!"

"Arizona! This is supposed to be romantic!"

"It is, really! It IS!" Arizona chuckled, "I can't wait to tell the romantic story of my proposal! My girl basically seduced me on the doorstep, nearly had her wicked way with me in the hallway because she is just so damn hot and….horny. Then she nearly had me pass out from how she…."

"Arizona! You _can't_ tell people that!" Callie grinned and blushed

"No" Arizona whispered as she moved to sit on the edge of the bed and pulled Callie up to sit next to her. "No I can't. But I CAN tell them, how tonight….Calliope Iphigenia Torres, asked me to marry her, again, and made me the happiest woman alive!"

"Second happiest, if you say yes!" Callie said softly as she reached to pull Arizonas hands into her lap. "You say yes, and I'll be the happiest woman ever! Which is my way of saying….you haven't given me my answer"

"Oh!" Arizona smirked. "My bad. Thought I had! Hmmmmm…."

"Arizona!" Callie whined and stamped her foot a fraction

With a smile, Arizona reached over and cupped Callies face in her hands before whispering. "Yes, you dork! YES!"

"Yes?"

"Yes, I'll marry you!" Arizona chuckled as she saw the tears spring up in the brunettes eyes. "Now, get your cold butt back in bed, I'm tired and we have a long day tomorrow"

Callie waggled her eyebrows as she husked. "You have indeed, starting….now!"

"Callie!" the blonde giggled as she was pushed back into the soft mattress and felt the soft hands of her fiancé skimming over her body. "I'm tired! You wore me out!"

Briefly Callie looked up and smirked. "Sorry baby, but WE are gonna celebrate getting engaged. We are gonna celebrate a lot…a WHOLE lot!"

"A whole lot!" Arizona squeaked as Callies hand started to weave their magic

"Oh yeah, a _**whole**_ lot!"

"Callie, I…I'd like to…ohGodGodGod….uhm…Callie…I wanna be able to walk to uh, see in the New Year!"

Callie chuckled and briefly looked up to wink at the blushing blonde. "Trust me" she husked before leaning up and kissing her

"Always" whispered Arizona. "Always"


End file.
